EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Stooshe

The Stooshe girls are BACK! Known for their massive hits such as “Black Heart”, “Slip” and “Love Me” featuring Travie McCoy, they are responsible for some of the best R&B songs in recent years.

For the past few months, they have been working hard in the studio and now the beautiful trio, made up of Alexandra Buggs, Courtney Rumbold and Karis Anderson, are set to light up the charts once again with their new offering “Lock Down”.

CelebMix caught up with the girls to talk about the story behind “Lock Down”, their musical inspirations and what the future holds for Stooshe.

Hi girls, welcome back! How does it feel to be back in the spotlight after working on your music for the last 18 months?
Courtney (C): It feels fantastic to be back, although it doesn’t feel like we were away. We’ve been in the studio writing and rehearsing.

Your new single Lock Down is brilliant, how would you describe it to anyone who hasn’t heard it and what was the inspiration behind writing it?
Alex (A): Thank you! We had a lot of fun co-writing it. Lock Down represents freedom, and the journey we’ve been on. It’s definitely a song we are hoping people can relate to on different levels in their own lives to, everyone wants happiness and choice and that’s what the song tells the story of.

The video for it looks amazing, what was it like filming it?
Karis (K): It was incredible and definitely a career highlight! We filmed in a prison in Portsmouth which really bought the story alive as it was so real, it allowed everyone to get into character more, especially rocking the orange jumpsuits. The second part of the video is filmed in LA, where our amazing director Damien Sandoval is based, he flew in to film the UK part and then back out for the LA part. As you can see there was A LOT of running in the video but we got to do it in our Palladium boots which bought some more glamour. We also had the gorgeous Dom Benjamin from America’s Next Top Model in the video (pictured below), he was so lovely and being chased by him was no bad thing.

What can we expect from your second album?
A: You can expect an R&B and pop inspired album with hard hitting beats and great harmonies. Singing is what we wake up everyday wanting to do and this album really shows that, it’s us, it’s Stooshe. If you were to put together the ultimate power house of glamour and vocals, it would be Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Rihanna and that’s where we’ve taken inspiration from. Taylor Swift showed the world how to put on a tour this summer! Girl Power!

What’s been your career highlight so far?
C: That’s a tricky one, there have been so many. But, closing the MOBO Awards with a live performance of Waterfalls, with TLC sat in the audience was totally surreal. It’s TLC! Then being nominated for ‘Best Single’ at the Brit Awards in the same category as Adele and Rihanna, it was crazy!

What is your ultimate career goal?
K: To sing and travel the world doing it. Since we were little all we’ve wanted to do is perform. Working with incredible producers and writers to create music is such a privilege and then getting to share that music with the world is the best feeling. We also have the best fans who have grown with us, so keeping that relationship with them is important.

What is you earliest memory of music?
A: I’m from a family of performers, so our house was like a performance every night. My earliest memory is probably when I was about 5 or 6 and singing with my mum and little sister to Mariah Carey and Whitney with frizzy hair and trying to hit that Mariah note in Emotions!

K: My earliest memory of music is watching my dad playing his decks on the weekends. He had hundreds of records piled up and I’d sit on them with my headphones on and he would teach me all these rare groove ad libs and we’d dance for hours!

C: My earliest memory has to be singing along to Shirley Bassey with my great grandad and great uncle. I was about 4 or 5 and would know her songs word for word!

You’re always looking flawless, who are your style inspirations?
C: Thank you, our style has definitely evolved over the years. This time we wanted to bring more glamour but with an edge, a style that represents being a strong unit, independence and our personalities. We have an incredible glam squad too.

Who would be your dream collaboration?
K: That’s a hard one, there are a few artists at the moment that are killing it. But our ultimate girl collab would be Taylor Swift, she has had the most incredible year with her hits and the tour. Her values and commitment to her fans comes through in everything she does. Drake is definitely on the list too, I mean the video for Hotline Bling, he’s a creative genius.

Who’s your current celebrity crush?
A: We all love a bit of Tom Hardy and Channing Tatum. We were at the Magic Mike premiere a few months ago and saw him in the flesh, he is gorgeous and add in those dance moves!!

What’s your favourite karaoke/shower song?
C: I think collectively we can all say a power ballad, like an old school Whitney “I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ or Mariah. But if we’re feeling sexy then a bit of Beyoncé!!

Who are your favourite artists at the moment?
K: We love Drake. We all said we want him as a best friend, especially after Hotline Bling! He needs to teach us those dance moves. Also, Ed Sheeran is incredibly talented. We love him and we were lucky enough to work with Ghostwriter on the new album, who co-wrote Ed’s new track ‘Lay It All On Me.’

If you weren’t in Stooshe, what would you be doing?
A: I studied Marketing at University and loved PR so I would probably be organising events and working behind the scenes instead of on the screen.

C: Oh that’s a tough one! I’m not too sure but I LOVE animals so would most likely working with them like a zoo keeper or something like that or maybe something with tattoos because I like drawing too.

K: I can’t imagine doing anything else but I was a dancer before I started singing so maybe I’d still be doing that professionally or I’d go into management and put a group together. I love music too much to do anything else!

You’ve been busy performing at Christmas lights switch ons and firework events recently, will you be doing your own shows soon?
C: We’re actually doing an intimate Christmas show for our fans next week! Tickets are on sale at the moment. Next year we will be touring with the new album, which we are so excited for. Meeting our squad up and down the country is the best fun.

Finally, do you have a message for all of your fans?
A: Thank you for being there for us squad! You guys are amazing and we’re so grateful for all your support. We love you so much and look forward to seeing all your faces very soon – old and new!

Thank you to the Stooshe girls for their time!

You can purchase tickets for Stooshe’s show at the Notting Hill Arts Club on December 10th here.

Their new single “Lock Down” is due for release on January 15th 2016. Check out the video for it below!